Thinking Mobile/Social First

Producing 30-60 Videos for Social Media

Diana WilliamsDigital Editor & Strategist

UVA/Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

Why Mobile/Social First?

• According to the latest Pew research, 64% of American adults own a smartphone and of those owners, 91% of users age 18–29 use their phones for social networking including watching videos.

• Videos now trump photos when it comes to engagement on social media, especially native Facebook video.

By creating mobile/social video, we’re meeting our audience where they live and giving them a user

friendly content package.

Understanding CopyrightThe basics of copyright is this: if you didn’t make it, it doesn’t belong to you although you can’t exert ownership over your creative work forever. In other words, copyright can expire.

Works published before 1923 are in the public

domain due to copyright expiration.

Fair UseUnder fair use, you may be able to use materials protected by copyright, especially if the end result is transformative, educational and not used commercially. Here are details from YouTube and a video that provides an example of fair use:

Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck in Right Wing Radio Duck

The four factors of fair use*

In the United States, fair use is determined by a judge, who analyzes how each of the four factors of fair use applies to a specific case.1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposesCourts typically focus on whether the use is “transformative.” That is, whether it adds new expression or meaning to the original, or whether it merely copies from the original. Commercial uses are less likely to be considered fair, though it’s possible to monetize a video and still take advantage of the fair use defense.2. The nature of the copyrighted workUsing material from primarily factual works is more likely to be fair than using purely fictional works.3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a wholeBorrowing small bits of material from an original work is more likely to be considered fair use than borrowing large portions. However, even a small taking may weigh against fair use in some situations if it constitutes the “heart” of the work.4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted workUses that harm the copyright owner’s ability to profit from his or her original work are less likely to be fair uses. Courts have sometimes made an exception under this factor in cases involving parodies.

*Source: YouTube

Mobile/Social Video is Different

Mobile/social videos are designed specifically for mobile devices, for consumption on social platforms. So, they are:

• Short. Usually 1 minute or less.• Titled. Captions should tell a complete, concise story that can

be fully comprehended with the sound off.• Highly visual. In addition to great pics and video clips,

imagery can include text treatments, eye catching transitions or animation.

• Scalable. Images are pre-sized to prevent jumping and fonts are enhanced with size, color and/or stroke for readability.

Every Good Video Begins with a Good Script

The best stories offer surprising new information or retell an old story in a different way by revealing details previously unknown or focusing on a lesser known character/incident. For mobile/social video, it also needs to be a story you can tell quickly without losing context.

Scripting tips:

• 10-15 lines of text• At least one visual – picture, video, graphic,

animated gif – per line of text

Here are some free and low cost tools to get

you started:

Finding visuals

Photos:Flickr CommonsGoogle Search (“tipping” used as search term)Library of CongressNew York Public Library Digital Collection

Wikimedia CommonsPixabay (stock)Public Domain Pictures (stock)

Videos:Pexels (stock) Pixabay (stock)YouTube (“tipping” used as search term)

Finding Audio

Creative Commons Legal Music For VideoFree Music ArchiveSoundCloud (use “Creative Commo

ns Music” as a search term)

Video Creation/Editing

Adobe SparkAnimotoiMovie

Optional Tools

Amara (captioning)Canva (creating graphics)Pixlr (photo editing)

Making mobile/social video can be fun and

easy.

Some final hints and tips:

• Gather everything you’ll need into a temporary file on your desktop. When finished, store it in the cloud to save space.

• Play with the timing. If you can make movements happen in time with music or other audio it adds visual appeal.

• Play with transitions, but keep the overall mood of the piece in mind. Transitions should enhance, not distract from the story.

• Keep fonts large. Try not to drop below 80 pts since it will scale down on smaller devices.• Add emphasis to key thoughts and phrases by changing font color or applying a transition.• If you’re having trouble seeing the text, use a stroke, change the color of the font, drop the

opacity of a photo or apply a little color with a filter to increase readability.• Consider the tone of the story when selecting your music. Somber stories = slower, maybe even

haunting tunes. Happy stories = upbeat music. Use the keywords and phrases you would use to describe your finished piece as search terms.

• Keep an original of the finished piece for reuse.

*Source: YouTube

Putting it Into Practice

Questions?